1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of transfer of hot stamped foil to the surface of an object.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art for printing rollers was observed in previous issued patents and published patent applications. The previous art, however, does not solve the problem that currently exists in the hot foil stamping industry.
The following seven patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art known to the inventor.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,051 issued to Georg Niggemeier et al. on Jul. 28, 1998 for “Ink Transfer Roller with Interchangeable Cover” (hereafter the Niggemeier Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,360 issued to William James Lane, III et al. on Jan. 19, 1999 for “Replaceable Printing Sleeve” (hereafter the “'360 Lane Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,799 issued to William James Lane, III et al. on Nov. 16, 1999 for “Replaceable Sleeve” (hereafter the “'799 Lane Patent”);
4. United States Published Patent Application No. 2003/0131743 issued to Alexander Sauer et al. on Jul. 17, 2013 for “Roller with Detachable Roller Cover” (hereafter the “Sauer Published Patent Application”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 8,075,465 issued to Paul Verfaellie et al. on Dec. 13, 2011 for “Roller Assembly with an Eccentric Expandable Cover Retaining Ring and a Method of Manufacturing the Roller Assembly” (hereafter the “Verfaellie Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 8,250,977 issued to Lev Zlatin et al. on Aug. 28, 2012 for “Printing Press with Replaceable Sleeve Shell Segments For A Cylinder” (hereafter the “Zlatin Patent”);
7. United States Published Patent Application No. 2013/0228085 to Raghbir Bhullar et al. on Sep. 5, 2013 for “Process for Refurbishing Cylinder Rolls and Bases for Printing Machines” (hereafter the “Bhullar Published Patent Application”).
The Niggemeier Patent discloses an ink transfer roller with interchangeable cover. Specifically, the patent discloses:                “An ink transfer roller for a support roller or support bar, in particular of metal, with a stretchable, interchangeable fiber-reinforced laminated plastic material cover (K) covered with a metal-ceramic layer (MK), which is provided with small ink transfer cups (FN), wherein the laminated plastic material cover (K) consists of a stretchable inner cover (UB) and an outer cover (OB), between which a foamed material compressible layer (SS) is enclosed.”        
This patent discloses the concept of having an exchangeable roller but it works differently than your invention in that the exchangeable roller essentially is an elastic type band which can be stretched over the center hub.
The '360 Lane Patent discloses a replaceable printing sleeve. In particular, the patent discloses:                “A replaceable sleeve having a working surface is provided which is adapted to be mounted on a carrier. The sleeve includes an inner polymeric layer, a reinforcing layer overlying the inner layer, an intermediate polymeric layer overlying the reinforcing layer, and an outer polymeric layer. The sleeve may include a cushion layer between the intermediate layer and the outer layer. The layers comprising the sleeve are formed around a support and then cured simultaneously in a single step. The resulting sleeve may be used in printing operations or in other applications such as coating, embossing, laminating, calendering and the like.”        
The '799 Lane Patent discloses a replaceable sleeve having a working surface is provided which is adapted to be mounted on a carrier.
The Sauer Published Patent Application discloses:                “Printing rollers, in particular ink rollers, dampening rollers or varnishing rollers for web-fed offset printing machines and sheet-fed offset printing machines, with a rigid roller core and a roller cover with an outside layer from elastomeric or elastic plastic material are constructed that way that the roller cover is connected with the roller core detachable. In this way for inking units, dampening units and varnishing units of printing machines rollers are made available, whose roller cover is exchangeable and can be used in a one-way method.”        
The Verfaellie Patent discloses:                “A roller assembly for a production machine having an inner wheel base capable of attachment to the driving axle of a production machine and an expandable outer ring which is cooperatively connectable to the inner wheel base is disclosed. The circumference of the expandable outer ring is adjustable. An outer roller cover mounts circumferentially around the adjustable expandable outer ring.”        
The Zlatin Patent discloses a printing press with replaceable sleeve shell segments for a cylinder. The major concept of this invention is that you can vary the diameter of the printing wheel but it is implied within the concept that the printing wheel can be removed and replaced.
The Bhullar Published Patent Application discloses a process for refurbishing cylinder rolls and bases for printing machines.
None of the prior art patents address the problems that currently exist in the Hot Stamping industry.